I'm really not sure how much healing my gut needs. I don't think I have white lines in my fingerprints, maybe 3 on my left thumb but I think that's it. By white lines, are they typically horizontal and look like cracks? My fingerprints come out pretty good. Can there be vertical white lines? I have what I can only describe as wrinkly looking lines that just barely show up in my print. When I see others with white lines they are all deep looking and horizontal.

Are you saying your ridge height is low? (butter fingers? like they are slick) Ridge as in the lines the make up the fingerprint are not that deep, sort of hard to see by just looking at them?

I have made it longer than that without gluten and dairy. I'm not having any, other than the store ghee and I don't think it bothers me. Right now the problem is sugar, not enough to no veggies, small amounts of corn, soy, and other avoids, and just not having food in general. I had a banana and cookie (GF flour, shortening, chocolate, white sugar) for breakfast, sardines for lunch, and scrambled eggs with GF pancakes topped with agave and margarine. I just don't have the foods I need here just in survival mode.

I am sorry to hear this, and I can relate to you Rachel. I feel like my budget is so limited and I keep eating things that are not avoids, but really not helping me. Some are avoids, though.. within the product.

Hang in there, just take whatever money you do have and purchase protein!!! That is what I am trying to do and it seems to be better. And... greens! I eat alot of lettuce, spinach and kale to fill me up and then top off with protein. It works, but you have to be diligent with the hope that you will get some more money soon.

Thanks Marjorie. I'm trying to stay positive and I'm doing a little better. Hard to stay away from sweets (chocolate, apple juice, grapes, bananas) as I'm used to that to end my meal and feel like I need it to completely be full

Thanks Marjorie. I'm trying to stay positive and I'm doing a little better. Hard to stay away from sweets (chocolate, apple juice, grapes, bananas) as I'm used to that to end my meal and feel like I need it to completely be full

Totally get it. I am with you, no worries. I know you can do it, we are stronger than we think.

Rachel,When the fingerprints are worn down it is a sign the gut needs help. Mine were really worn down and are improving slowly. Totally understand that desire for something sweet after a meal, I find at night that kicks in. A doctor (Naturopah/Traditional) told me that is usually a sign of needing more digestive enzymes.Hang in there we all have our ups and downs.Lin

...Right now the problem is sugar, not enough to no veggies, small amounts of corn, soy, and other avoids...

Don't underestimate the impact that even small amounts of avoids have on your gut, or the importance of gut-healing in the "Big Picture". Read those ingredient labels, and resolve to reduce packaged or prepared food as much as possible. It may seem rather daunting at first, but re-learning how you shop, store, and prepare your foods --as well as what you'll actually be eating-- will result in a sense of wellness you may never have experienced. Once you've abandoned the "common" diet in favor of this healthful, proper, way of eating, you'll soon realize that you're nurturing the very foundation of your existence.

It may seem rather daunting at first, but re-learning how you shop, store, and prepare your foods --as well as what you'll actually be eating-- will result in a sense of wellness you may never have experienced. Once you've abandoned the "common" diet in favor of this healthful, proper, way of eating, you'll soon realize that you're nurturing the very foundation of your existence.

I second that. It's easy for us to substitute foods that are technically compliant for our old, avoid foods we're used to (like gluten-free bread and pasta in place of regular varieties, if you need to avoid gluten). I think that's a step in the right direction, but it's very limiting. For example, if you're gluten-intolerant, why not get rid of bread and pasta entirely and add more of what's really good for you? It opens up a whole new world of possibility.

Don't underestimate the impact that even small amounts of avoids have on your gut, or the importance of gut-healing in the "Big Picture". Read those ingredient labels, and resolve to reduce packaged or prepared food as much as possible. It may seem rather daunting at first, but re-learning how you shop, store, and prepare your foods --as well as what you'll actually be eating-- will result in a sense of wellness you may never have experienced. Once you've abandoned the "common" diet in favor of this healthful, proper, way of eating, you'll soon realize that you're nurturing the very foundation of your existence.

Averno, this is a very insightful post and worthy of being read and re-read. I especially agree with your first sentence.

Normal day, let me be aware of the treasure you are.Let me not pass you by in quest of some rare and perfect tomorrow.~Mary Jean Irion

Recently I've noticed that sugar (even organic apple juice) seems to be making that worse and honey caused mucous in my throat and pain in my ear just like milk does. Now I'm wondering if one of the reasons why dairy gives me so much trouble could be because of the sugars? And I'm wondering if a reaction to honey might be pointing to nonnie. Hmmm..

Apples are also an avoid on the O nonnie diet, although I don't know what SWAMI would say about apple juice for an O nonnie Explorer (with apple juice being beneficial for Explorers.) I'm just pointing out that your intolerances to both of those foods (apple juice and honey) point towards non-secretor.

What foods are you still including in your diet that contain avoids? Are these entirely composed of foods you bought pre-BTD and are waiting to use up, or are these foods you plan to continue purchasing?

Simple, basic foods are remarkably cheap. Frozen veggies, eggs, and cheap cuts of beef and poultry are all inexpensive and avoid-free. Canned fish is a bit harder, as the cheap brands all seem to contain "natural flavors" or soy-based broths (which is likely GMO and highly toxic) and the truly pure canned fishes are more expensive. So you'll need to eat fish a little less often if you can't afford to buy much of it, and maybe make up the protein difference with extra eggs. (This is my advice if money is really tight- from a health perspective, following the portions recommended in SWAMI will surely be better. But it's better to eat enough total protein than it is to eat "perfectly" for 2-3 weeks and then not have enough money for food the last week of the month!)

However, if you have a kitchen full of "mostly OK" foods, I can understand wanting to finish them up before replacing them with healthier fare. It's up to you whether or not you want to give away those foods or eat them yourself to save money. Just bear in mind that you're unlikely to start truly healing until you're able to get those toxic foods out of your diet. If you really can't afford to replace that food right now, healing might be on hold for a few weeks.

Ruthie- I am going to be using the nonnie swami diet plan, once I'm more compliant of course. I already partially follow it. I relate to nonnie things and feel that some of the nonnie avoids bother me as mentioned. Really the nonnie and sec lists for me are only a bit different, there are not too many major differences. I need to print out the two to see just what the differences are. I know that apple juice is bennie for sec and neutral for non while apple is avoid for non. Honey is avoid for non and neutral for sec. Cheeses change but I haven't had those in forever. Non gets goose and quail eggs for bennie but I've never had them. A few seafood choices go from avoid to neutral in nonnie...

The avoids I have are daiya imitation cheese, earth balance soy free margarine, tapioca, millet, and sorghum flour, mayonnaise, almond milk...I think that's it really. I did have Ham over the holidays but I've avoided that fine for a year. I do ok staying away from things I think it's just "replacement" foods I'm having trouble with.

I have this fresh vegetable phobia type thing I'm trying to deal with. It's nothing really major but it makes me pick up veggies in the store and put them back down because I'm unsure what to do with it and flavor it and I don't want to waste the money. I was getting to where they weren't so hard for me to eat when they were cooked and had butter on them but I can't eat that now. That's a hurdle I really need to get over soon. I'm fine on the protein, I eat meat as often as I can.

I know I'm hindering the healing. I bought the flours a while back before I had the information I needed. I think the millet and tapioca are ok for sec but are avoid for non so I might try to use the bag of millet. 2 bags of sorghum left and not sure what to do with them.

If the packages are still sealed, see if you can return them. Then you can use the store credit for more compliant foods.

It will be easy enough to cook with compliant flours instead of avoid flours once you buy them. But there are a few changes you're going to need to make in how you eat foods. You'll need to learn how to cook vegetables that taste good. What oils can you have? Compliant oil and salt over cooked veggies can be as tasty as butter over veggies. What exactly do you use the mayonnaise for? I can help you brainstorm alternatives for each recipe.

I think you're going to have to completely stop the non-dairy cheese, and not replace it with something else. It's fine to use up what you've already purchased, but I don't think you should buy it again.

I bought the flour in bulk on amazon and since they were in a 4 pack I doubt I could return them. Maybe I could take them to the health food store and see if they will take them without a receipt for an exchange. A little deceitful but it'd be like trading.

We use olive oil and grapeseed oil here. the grapeseed is neutral. I can't find any of the other oils here (the health food store is in another city so maybe I can look next time I'm there. The mayonnaise is only for the occasional tuna salad when the family wants to eat it.

I completely agree with you about the non dairy cheese. Every time I've bought it I tried to put it out of my mind that it had avoids. I know better than that. I'll get there. I can't wait to be 100% compliant.

PS-know any alternatives to soy sauce? I can't have it and would like to have stir fry again with something better for me.

I've found this works best when used in a recipe, rather than all by itself as a dipping sauce for sushi or as the only flavoring on rice. Then again, somebody with a soy allergy who "doesn't know what they're missing" may enjoy this "mock soy sauce" anyway. But for people who have very recently used wheat-free tamari, this mock soy sauce works best when you add a bunch of other seasonings as part of a more complex recipe, such as adding garlic, ginger, hot pepper, and dry mustard for a Teriaki sauce. Using broth instead of water for the sauce base also gives lots of flavor.

Thanks for that. I think we may be having stir fry tonight so ill try it. I wouldve ate it dry if I had to but I'm glad I might have a substitute. I have some regular molasses and when I first tasted it I thought it was nasty. Now I'm kind of liking it and could see it being good in that. Is there much difference in taste for blackstrap?